Danny Brown and Kitty (née Pryde) have been on the road together for the Old And Reckless Tour for about a week. It was reported that at their Minneapolis date last Friday a female attendee hopped on stage, pulled down Brown’s pants, and briefly attempted to perform oral sex on the rapper. It’s been commented on with both shock and awe. Kendrick Lamar tweeted excitedly at Brown, while Minneapolis’ alt-weekly CityPages wrote negatively about the incident. When you consider Brown’s devil-may-care persona and how often and virulently he raps about performing oral sex, a subject that rarely gets broached in hip-hop without a “no way, not me, I would never” clause attached to it, you would think he’d be pretty into it. But yesterday, Kitty published a breathtaking piece about what everyone on the tour is referring to now as “The Thing” on her Noisey column. It’s not only an interesting reflection on their life on the road, but it’s an important statement on the complicated politics of sexual assault, which is what Kitty considers “The Thing” to be. It’s an impressive read from a survivor and a crucial perspective on the meaning of “the whole Danny Brown oral sex thing.” Stay tuned for our Q&A with Kitty, in which she and I discuss this, among other things, further.

I don’t mean to assume how a person should react to being sexually assaulted, but responding to Lamar’s tweet with an apparent boast about never “missing a bar”, not to mention the picture of Brown appearing to palm the back of the woman’s head, and finally the idea of allowing a women to unzip your pants and pull out your dick without you having a chance to, if indeed you didn’t want to do this, back away from her (I know she mentions that he tried to, but that’s bullshit. Unless the stage was a foot deep, he could have backed away plenty far enough to escape this woman’s advances. She mentions rappers not wanting to appear anything less than a pussy craving sex fiend in front of peers, but come on, when has Brown ever cared about appearances?)…I know, I guess what I’m saying is that this wasn’t sexual assault. It was a rapper getting a blowjob on stage, and happy to do so.

“Not to mention the picture of the woman appearing to grab the man’s shoulders, and finally the idea of allowing a man to unzip your pants and grab your cooch without you having a chance to, if indeed you didn’t want to do this, back away from him (I know she mentions she tried to, but that’s bullshit. Unless the sidewalk was a foot deep, she could have backed away plenty far enough to escape this man’s advances.)”

Hahaha, ummmm good point? You didn’t reverse the sexes. You reversed the sexes, and then changed entire quotes and scenarios to fit your point. He didn’t grab her shoulders; he palmed the back of her head. He wasn’t on a sidewalk, or whatever other ‘rape’ scenario you’re going for here; he was on stage. And you don’t address any of my other points. HAD you simply reversed the sexes, my argument still stands. Did you hit ‘reply’ too early? Is there a joke here I’m missing? Or did you really think that was a legitimate response, that actual discourse proceeds in such a manner?

I think since he didn’t ask her to do it, it was rape. As that’s the definition. That doesn’t justify his later reactions, but it doesn’t negate the initial rape. It’s a pretty bad state of affairs and Kitty seems to discuss it pretty well for someone who’s intimately involved in the whole situation.

Quite right, Josh. Consent is important, and if there wasn’t mutual consent than that is a problem regardless of what happens afterwards. I admit I’m speaking a bit from a place of ignorance here because I don’t really know anything about Danny Brown, but I feel like even if you talk a lot about how much you love blowjobs, that isn’t a global invitation for everyone in the world to give you a blowjob at any time.

Also, Tom: Even if he had backed away, pulling down somebody’s pants in an attempt to fellate them is still sexual assault, regardless if they actually get their mouth on your junk.

Ok, that’s a fair distinction. I guess what I’m leaning towards is more of a ‘it was without his consent but not against his will’ scenario. He didn’t agree to it, but he sure didn’t try to stop her, either, and so we should be careful not to equate this with..well, not to use a term as useless as ‘real’ sexual assault, but sexual assault that has real victims, real violence and real submission, not just a rapper who was surprised when a stranger undid his fly.

Not really a fan of Kitty’s music and I dunno if I’d call this piece “breathtaking” but it was a seriously good read. Really gets you thinking about all the machismo bullshit that even rappers as out there as Danny need to play into.

It’s a well-written article for sure, but come on. He ABSOLUTELY could’ve walked away BEFORE his junk came out of his pants. Instead, he chose to palm the back of her head and go along with it. Then he bragged about it afterwords. Shit, even Kendrick Lamar seemed jealous in that tweet.

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